Meditation and being creative are two of my loves, but they are more than that to me. They help me to maintain my balance in a world that is forever trying to overload & overwhelm us every day. As someone that needs to manage my anxiety, I find that meditation and performing art of some form every day, allows me to centre, regroup, balance and ground. These are only two methods that I use to help myself manage, but these seem to be the most important ones to me. Keep reading and I will share this practise with you that you can do in less than 10 minutes a day. You might be saying: “I don’t have time….it takes longer to get my art materials out…. I can’t draw…..I’m not an artist….I can’t do that…” If so, then yes you can! If it’s not art, then find your practise that will help you, maybe it’s walking outside and just being still; connecting to your breath; standing bare feet on the earth and grounding; being present while making a smoothie; being in your garden for just 10 minutes pulling weeds.
You can spend longer, but a minimum of 10 minutes to stop and connect will make a difference. We can all find that if we put down the phone, turn off the tv and take 10 minutes for ourselves.
On a good day when I have plenty of time, I can spend a couple of hours getting completely lost in a creative practise, but I usually need to schedule that kind of time in advance. Most days I don’t have that time, so I carve out at least 10 minutes to following this practise.
Give the following activity ago: relax…. and let go…..
10 Minute Art
Required items:
- Paper – any size, I have been doing mine on A5 lately.
- Drawing/painting materials – pencils, acrylic paints, watercolour paints, markers, ball point pens. If it writes, you can use it. You don’t need fancy supplies.
- Music – I like instrumental as it allows me to just be (and not think.)
- Timer – to time your 10min. You may wish to just start with 5 minutes and work up to 10 minutes.
Getting Started
- Gather your supplies. Set your timer. Turn on your music, then just pick up your drawing implement and go with the flow.
- Don’t think about what you’re doing. Just listen to the music and put colour on the page. Allow the music to guide you.
- Change colour if you want or just draw with the one colour, there are no rules.
- You may wish to set up your area by lighting a candle before you start or placing your favourite crystal near you.
- Don’t have a finished product in mind, just put pen to paper.
- Relax and enjoy.
If the logical side of your brain is fighting for control and telling you it’s a silly exercise, we don’t have time for this… involve it in the process! Have it set up a list of prompts that you can follow each day. Here is an example of my prompts if you want to use them:
- draw only with 1 colour – red, blue, brown, yellow, orange, purple etc.
- only circles
- only with lines
- hearts or a symbol you love
Let the logical mind plan this, then invite it to view only the practice.
Immerse yourself into 10 minutes of just being one with the music and going with the flow.
Remember: you are not planning the end result. Allow it to unfold on the paper before you.
I hope you enjoy this activity. Feel free to try different types of music; use a different colour each day; draw with just straight lines one day then curves the next or best of all – no plan at all.
This exercise can be done anywhere. You could sit in a park and use the sounds of nature as your music. Don’t put barriers up to stop you – there is always a way around them.
Enjoy!
Angel Blessings,
Diane
